Is Television Turning Into the Web?

Only a few years ago this question might have not been so clear. But here we are today wondering where this is going to go. Lots of questions to ponder. Is television turning into the Web?

Will we be watching former television shows online in the future? If so, how soon? Will our televisions become obsolete eventually because everyone will be focused on their computer screens? Do we even want to watch television programming online?

And… will the government stand in our way or not?

Most of those answers are unclear for now. However, we can look to the lawyers for insight on the last issue mentioned. (Not a good sign).

Companies like Time Warner are working to place limits on the Internet by regulating how much Internet consumption you take in, and then charging fees to the distributors of the content, which would essentially weed out the little guy who couldn't afford the big time fees.

Ok, but no matter what happens with that, there are still other issues for consumers to think about. Mainly, the question of if we even want to watch our favorite shows through our monitors and laptops. There's no doubt that we're perfectly ok with watching user generated content (UGC) videos. Last time I checked, it was said that 11 hours of footage is uploaded to YouTube every single minute.

Yes, I said minute.

But UGC is different. It's mostly short-form, not like a television program that requires more time to view. The question remains. Will consumers want to watch a 2 ½ hour movie on their monitor, or will they still crave for the couch or cushy chair?

For more about television type content, look at online video portals like Blip.tv, YouTube, Hulu, Magnify, and Joost. These portals are pumping out a litany of professionally produced "TV" content and delivering it to us with the click of a mouse, not a remote control.